Adventures in genealogy

One of Many Favorite Photographs

When I saw the topic for the 4th Edition of the “Smile for the Camera” Carnival, I had the same reaction as many other genea-bloggers: “Maven, what? Are you kidding? Just one?!” The theme is “My Favorite Photograph” – but when it comes to photographs there are no favorites because I love so many of them. When put in the context of genealogy, this is a truly impossible task. I have few photos of my great-grandparents, so every one I have is precious. However, in using the “Ace of Hearts” as the prompt, the carnival asks to see a photo that won your heart. Again, many of the photos in my personal collection have won my heart, but I had to choose only one.

Wacława Zawodny

This is my great-grandmother, Wacława Zawodny (in Polish, the feminine form of her married last name would be Zawodna). This is presumed to be her wedding photo – readers will see the corresponding photo of her husband later this month in his biographical sketch. Wacława, maiden name Slesinka, was born on 29 August 1880 in Wilczyn, Poland to Wincenty Slesinski and Stanisława Drogowska. On 28 January 1902 she married Joseph Zawodny in Dobrosołowo, Poland. Joseph left for the United States about two months after the wedding, and she followed in July, 1903. I have several photos of Wacława, who used the name Laura in the U.S., when she was older. This one captures my heart to see her as a young woman 21 years old. She sure captured my great-grandfather’s heart!

[This post was submitted for the 4th edition of Smile for the Camera: A Carnival of Images.]